Toyota to increase investment in Changchun auto base

Toyota, Japan's largest car manufacturer, intends to increase investment in its base in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun.

Toyota is considering building new factories in various places, Hideaki Homma, a spokesman for the company told local newspaper, Shanghai Daily on March.

In order to expand their production capacity, Toyota will invest 3.6 billion yuan (US$506 million) to expand the Changchun-based First Automobile Works (FAW), a large auto manufacturer of China's Jilin province, reported by the local media.

"The automobile joint venture can drive the domestic auto industry a lot from many aspects, like the infrastructure construction, technician imports, etc," Lingyun Zhao, dean of Hubei Academy of Social Sciences, told Emerging China.

However, as a trend of the local auto industry, the local auto manufacturers should pay more attention on the in-house developed and environment-friendly automobiles in the long run, according to Zhao.

The support from the local government in both finance and privilege policy are also very important, added Zhao.

Changchun city, as the second largest automobile manufacture base, holds the auto industry in high regard.

The development of the automobile industry is the key to the economic development of Changchun, according to Guangbin Gao, the secretary of the provincial and municipal Committee of the Communalist Party of China (CPC), in Changchun Daily,

The local government should support the automobile industry through different methods, like infrastructure and facilities construction, and also the cultivation of auto culture within the industry, according to Gao.

The automobile industry development zone of Changchun should be based on their own advantages. For instance, FAW services have become important economic growth points in the development of Changchun, added Gao.

FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd (FTW) is the result of long-term collaboration between China FAW Group Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation. The company owns US$ 25 million as the registered assets, according to the company.

When contacting Hongjian Yang, the spokesperson of corporate communication department of Toyota China, she claimed that nothing related has been confirmed.